Office closings won't stop DED's efforts

In the early 1990s when Joe Driskill was representing the Poplar Bluff area in the Missouri House of Representatives, he sponsored a bill to set up regional offices for the state's Department of Economic Development. In 1993, Driskill was appointed director of the DED, and he immediately set about securing funding for the regional offices.

Driskill is still head of Missouri's statewide effort to promote economic development by encouraging new jobs and fostering employers who are already in the state. The regional offices were intended to make the DED more accessible. They were to help communities obtain grants and to provide contacts for businesses considering a move to Missouri.

Community leaders and elected officials across the state believe the seven regional DED offices -- the one for Southeast Missouri is in Dexter -- have delivered the services they were intended to provide and have provided important assistance in the growth of businesses and industries.

Now Joe Driskill faces the unpopular decision to close the regional offices, which would save the state more than $800,000. The planned closings are part of an overall $21.4 million of DED cuts presented by Gov. Bob Holden in his budget plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Overall, Holden hopes to cut nearly half a billion dollars among all state departments.

An effort is under way to find a way to keep the regional DED offices open. Some communities where the offices are located are offering free office space, for example, but that cost is in the Office of Administration's budget and wouldn't help cut DED's budget.

Officials at DED say the offices have been beneficial, but tough choices have to be made. And, these officials say, reopening the offices would have a high priority if state revenue projections improve.

Most importantly, DED officials say they will continue to provide economic-development assistance and services throughout the state, even if it means dealing with Jefferson City.

Given the gloomy budget projections outlined by the governor, the focus should be on ways to use DED resources in Jefferson City to expand existing businesses and lure new businesses to every area of Missouri. While the regional offices may have been convenient, the DED was a willing and accessible partner for economic development before the regional offices opened -- and certainly will be again.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Southeast Missourians have lost their jobs as factories closed in recent years. The DED will continue to address the needs of workers in search of new jobs or retraining by maintaining its career centers like the one in Cape Girardeau.